Shoe fit indicating device



Dec. 26, 1967 w. A. KIRKLAND v 3,359,640

SHOE FIT INDICATING DEVICE Filed June Fig.

. I' MIA/'n'. l.

INVENTOR.

United States Patent 3,359,640 SHOE FIT INDICATING DEVICE William A.Kirkland, Kirks Shoe Store, Algona, Iowa 50511 Filed June 6, 1966, Ser.No. 555,377 8 Claims. (Cl. 33-3) This invention generally appertains toimprovements in shoe fitting devices and is a continuation-in-partapplication of my copending application, Ser. No. 421,760, led Dec. 29,1964 (now abandoned).

The present invention more particularly relates to improvements in shoet indicating devices, which are to be Ulsed by the wearer of a shoe ormost usually by the parents of a child, to determine whether a givenpair of shoes is still of the proper length and to obtain a visibleindication of such factor Iand also, in the event that it is determinedthat the shoes are no longer of proper length, to obtain a visibleindication of the approximate size of a replacement pair of shoes.

It is well known that childrens feet grow extremely fast, partic-ularlyduring the early stages of -a childs growth, and that most often a childwill outgrow a pair of shoes before the shoes give any visibleindication that they are too small so that they present a danger ofimpairing the childs proper foot development, if the child continues towear the shoes.

An important object of the present invention is to provide an extremelysimple device, which can be inserted in a shoe and which can be set toindicate the exact length of the shoe. The device can then be used withthe foot of the child disposed thereon so as to determine not onlywhether or not such shoe is of the proper length, so that it should becontinued to be worn, but Ialso, to give an approximate indication ofthe correct length of the replacement pair of shoes that should beobtained.

Another important object of the present invention is to provide a shoefit indicating device, which can beused by anyone, without any degree ofskill or knowledge of footwear and in a very expeditious and simplem-anner, for determining, quite readily and easily, whether a pair ofshoes is lof the proper length and should be continued to be worn or ifit is to be replaced, to give an approximate indication of the length ofthe replacement shoes. Another important object of the present inventionis to provide a very sturdy, compact and simple device, which is adaptedto be inserted into a shoe so as to lie on the innensole and extend fromthe tip of the toe to the heel portion of the shoe and which i-s adaptedto be manipulated manually, in a simple manner, to obtain a visualindication of the length of the shoe and then, with a wearers footpositoned thereon, to give an exact visual indication of whether theshoe is of proper length, so that there will be no danger of injury tothe toes or foot of the wearer, if the shoe is continued to be worn, or,on the other hand, to give a clear and exact visual indication ofwhether the shoe is too small for further wearing.

Another important object of the present invention is to enable a personto quickly and easily determine the compatibility of the foot and theshoe, after the shoe has been in use, so as to determine whether or notthe shoe should be discarded and replaced -by another shoe of a largers1ze.

A further important object of the present invention is to provide yashoe fit indicating device, which may be made in one-piece frominexpensive but sturdy material, that is of a bendable nature but whichis stil enough to assume and maintain an angular position, in which itmay be placed, Iand yet which can be returned into a flat, planar normalposition and which can be so inexpensively manufactured that the devicecan be supplied to customers of a shoe store, without cost to thecustomer.

These together with other objects and advantages which Will becomesubsequently apparent reside in the details of construction andoperation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, whereinlike numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a top plan view of a shoe fitting aid or indicating device,constructed in accordance with the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a view in perspective thereof, showing the same inserted inposition in a shoe to determine the exact size of the shoe;

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view thereof, after being removed from theshoe and with the wearers foot, which is shown in phantom lines, placedthereon so as to determine Whether or not such shoe is still of theproper size for proper and comfortable wear by the wearer; and

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary, detailed cross-sectional view, takensubstantially on line 4-4 of FIGURE l.

Referring now more particularly to the drawing, it is the primary aimand purpose of the present invention to provide 'a very inexpensive,simple and compact device, which can be used particularly by parents todetermine whether or not the shoes of their child still fit. In thisrespect, the outer appearance of a childs shoes does not give anindication as to whether or not the shoes are of a proper size and, ifcontinued to be worn, would impair the childs foot development.

The shoe fit indicating or checking device 10 preferably is of one-piececonstruction and may be stamped or otherwise formed from suitable sturdybut bendable or flexible material, which is stiff enough to assume acertain angular position and maintain such position, until it isreturned to its normal position. The device 10 includes an elongatedflat strip 12 of material, such as heavy cardboard, plastic or the like.The strip 12 has a rounded front end portion 14, which is of an outerterminal conguration to snugly abut the interior of the toe portion 16of a shoe 18, when the strip is positioned Within the shoe 18, as shownin FIGURE 2 and as will be described. The strip is formed with opposingstraight, side edges 20 and 22, which taper inwardly toward the rear endportion 24, that is formed with a squared olf outer end 26. The Hatstrip has opposing flat upper and lower faces 28 and 30.

The front or toe end portion 14 of the strip is formed with atransversely disposed area 32 on its upper face 28, which is suitablyscribed, lined or colored to serve as a grow room indicator, while theouter terminal portion 34 of the end portion 14 is inscribed with theword short or may be suitably colored or, in any manner, formed ordesigned so as to visually indicate a danger or too short area.

The end portion 24 is formed with a transverse hole 36, which isprovided so that the strip may be placed on a hook or other fastener,which is fixed to a wall for the purpose of disposing the strip in areadily accessible, storage place. The end portion 24 may be rigidispace40 may be `imprinted or otherwise provided with advertising indicia andit is also intended that the same ywill be formed with lines on which apersons name, age and other information may be inscribed, together with`the date `and place of purchase of the shoes.

The score lines 38, which are provided so that the strip may be easilybent into right angular relationship, as shown in FIGURE 2, in thedetermination of the exact length of the shoe 18, are preferably spacedapart a distance of approximately 1/6", which would correspond to`one-half size differences in length of a pair of shoes, particularly achilds pair of shoes. Of course, these iiguresare merely exemplary andit may be found that a different fractional inch spacing of the scorelines 38 will more correctly correspond to different size lengths so asto determinethe exact size of a pair of shoes.

s In use, as shown in FIGUR-ES 2 and 3, the elongated fiat strip isinserted lengthwise into the shoe 18 until the terminal rounded end ofthe toe portion 14 of the strip abuts the inner end of the toe portion16 of the shoerThe finger grip portion 24 is held by the fingers of theperson checking the length of the shoe 18 and the strip is bent aboutone of the score lines, which constitute a hinge means between the soleportion 44 and the heel portion 42,'with the'upstanding heel portion 42abutting :the inside of the back or heel portion 46 of the upper portionor last of the shoe 18. Thus, the mainiportion44 of the strip lies fiaton the innersole and extends.` from ythe front of the toe portion 16 infirm, abutting contact therewith to the inside of the Vheel portion 46in firm abutting, lengagement therewith to define a sole portion, withthe perpendicular or upstanding por-tion `42,'-that defines a heelportion, contacting the inside of the rear portion of the shoe andextending above the counter of the heel portion.

In the example, which is shown in FIGURES 2 and 3, the strip is'bent onthe' score line 38a which would be marked, for example S6, therebyindicating that the length of the shoe I8 is a size 6.

As aforementioned, the strip is formed of such bendable material that itmay be easily bent about one of the score lines 38 so that the soleportion 44 is of the same length' as the length of the inside of theshoe 18 from the inner side of the toe portion 16 to the inner side ofthe heel portion 46. However, the material, which,

as aforementioned, may be heavy cardboard, plastic or the like sturdybut inexpensive material, is of such a nature lthat the upstanding heelportion 42 will remain n upright, in relation to the fiat sole portion44 after the device is removed from the shoe 18.

Then the foot, indicated by the phantom lines F in FIGURE 3, is placedliat on the upper surface 28 of the fiat sole portion 44, with the heelof the foot abutting against perpendicular `or upstanding heel portion42 which is held tightly thereagainst so as to provide a firm support`for the heel of the foot F. The toe portions T of the footwill thenoverlie the rounded toe end portion 14 of the indicator strip'V and itcan be easily seen whether or not the shoe 18 is of the proper lengthfor further wearer to be discarded and replaced by a larger size shoe.The toe portions Tof the foot F may overlie, for example, the portion32, which means that the shoe can be continued to be used, since it iswithin the proper lengthdimension for further use;

However, if the toe portions T of the foot F were to overlie the outerterminal portion 34 of the toe portion 14 of the strip, which portion 34would be a short or danger indicator, then it can be readilyV realizedthat the shoe 18 is too short for the foot F and that continued wearingof the shoes would injure the foot and, quite possibly, lead to seriousdeformation of the toe portions T of the foot F.

The upstanding heel portion 42 can then be restored into its coplanarrelation with the major or sole portion 44 of the strip, so that thestrip once again assumes its entirely fiat state, in which it was in, asshown in FIGURE 1. The foot F can then be placed so that the heeloverlies one of the score lines back of the score line 38, such as thescore line S-61/2 or S-7 and the heel portion 42 can be bent upwardlyand the foot F replaced on the major fiat sole portion 44 and this willenable the person to obtain a rough but rather approximate indication ofwhat size the replacement shoe should be for proper and comfortable wearby the wearer.

It can be appreciated that the shoe checking or indicating device 10v isof a very simple nature which can be used by anyone, without any degreeof skill and that it can be used and reused, since it can be bent intothe checking, angular position of FIGURES 2 and 3 from the fiat normalposition of FIGURE 1 and then returned to the position of FIGURE 1 andbe stored away for further usage.

It is envisioned that the device can be made in two separate parts, onepart constituting a sole portion 44 and the other part constituting aheel portion 42 with longitudinally movable, transverse hinge meansconnecting the parts together and serving the function of the transversescore lines 38.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles ofthe invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes willreadily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limitthe invention to the exact construction and operation shown anddescribed, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalentsmay be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention asclaimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. A shoe dit indicating device for determining the compatibility of thelength of a shoe to the length of the foot of a wearer of the shoe afterthe shoe has been in use be replaced by a shoe of a longer length; saiddevice comprising an elongated member including a sole portion adaptedto be inserted into a shoe and positioned to overlie the innersole andextend from the toe portion to the heel portion of a shoe in abuttingengagement with said portions of the shoe, said device including a heelportion adapted to be moved fromA a coplanar position relative to thesole portion at the heel abutting end thereof into an angular upstandingposition relative thereto, and plural transversely disposed hinge meansspaced longitudinally of said member connecting the sole portion andtheheel portion for movement of said heel portion into said upstandingposition at any one of said hinge means, and said sole portion havingmeans provided on its upper face, on which a wearers foot is adapted tobe placed after the sole portion has been removed from a shoe, saidmeans giving a visual indication of whether the shoe is too short forthe Wearers foot.

2. The invention of claim 1, wherein said device includes an elongatedfiat strip, said sole portion having an outer terminal toe end portion,said heel portion constituting a finger grip portion, and said stripbeing bendable about said hinge means.

3. The invention of claim 1, wherein said sole portion, heel portion andhinge means are integral.

4. The invention of claim 1, wherein said Ydevice is irll plural hingemeans being constituted by a series of transverse fold lines inlongitudinally spaced relation.

5. The invention of claim 2 wherein said plural hinge means isconstituted by a bendable portion composed of a series of transverselongitudinally spaced lines formed on the upper face of the strip aboutwhich the strip is adapted to be bent.

6. The invention of claim 1, wherein said plural hinge means includes abendable portion connecting the sole portion and the heel portion andhaving a series of longitudinally spaced transverse score lines formedon its upper face about which the strip is adapted to be bent incorrespondence to the length of the shoe.

7. The invention of claim 6, wherein said score lines 8. The inventionof claim 1, wherein said last means includes the provision of visuallydifferentiating markings on the upper face of the outer toe portion ofthe sole portion.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,148,450 9/1964 Del Pesco 333.4

FOREIGN PATENTS 655,188 1951 England.

LEONARD FORMAN, Primary Examiner.

are spaced longitudinally apart a distance having a corl5 LLOYD VANDERSON Assistant Examiner relation to sizes of shoes.

1. A SHOE FIT INDICATING DEVICE DETERMINING THE COMPATIBILITY OF THELENGTH OF A SHOE TO THE LENGTH OF THE FOOT OF A WEARER OF THE SHOE AFTERTHE SHOE HAS BEEN IN USE WHEREBY IT CAN BE VISUALLY DETERMINED WHETHERTHE SHOE IS OF A LENGTH IN RELATION TO THE LENGTH OF THE WEARER''S FOOTSO THAT IT CAN SAFELY BE CONTINUED TO BE WORN OR SHOULD BE REPLACED BY ASHOE OF A LONGER LENGTH; SAID DEVICE COMPRISING AN ELONGATED MEMBERINCLUDING A SOLE PORTION ADAPTED TO BE INSERTED INTO A SHOE ANDPOSITIONED TO OVERLIE THE INNERSOLE AND EXTEND FROM THE TOE PORTION TOTHE HEEL PORTION OF A SHOE IN ABUTTING ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID PORTIONS OFTHE SHOE, SAID DEVICE INCLUDING A HEEL PORTION ADAPTED TO BE MOVED FROMA COPLANAR POSITION RELATIVE TO THE SOLE PORTION AT THE HEEL ABUTTINGEND THEREOF INTO AN ANGULAR UPSTANDING POSITION RELATIVE THERETO, ANDPLURAL TRANSVERSELY DISPOSED HINGE MEANS SPACED LONGITUDINALLY OF SAIDMEMBR CONNECTING THE SOLE PORTION AND THE HEEL PORTION FOR MOVEMENT OFSAID HEEL PORTION INTO SAID UPSTANDING POSITION AT ANY ONE OF SAID HINGEMEANS, AND SAID SOLE PORTION HAVING MEANS PROVIDED ON ITS UPPER FACE, ONWHICH A WEARER''S FOOT IS ADAPTED TO BE PLACED AFTER THE SOLE PORTIONHAS BEEN REMOVED FROM A SHOE, SAID MEANS GIVING A VISUAL INDICATION OFWHETHER A SHOE IS TOO SHORT FOR THE WEARER''S FOOT.